Twenty two years after riding his first winner at Clairwood Park, Sean Veale is enjoying the season flyer of his life and took his tally to 12 winners after just a week and a day of the new term as the sun set on a jam-packed Fairview on Friday.
Veale rode a four-timer on the afternoon and quipped that ‘while Richard Fourie is fishing, I’m riding the big fish’.
Sean Veale gives the four salute as My Best Shot beats Valerias Dream (Muzi Yeni) to close his four-timer (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Fourie broke new records riding for the Alan Greeff yard in the Eastern Cape last season and while the new SA Champion is overseas and enjoying a well-deserved break, the enthusiastic Durbanite has grabbed the chance to ride proper horses for a top yard with both hands.
These opportunities really usually only arise in the absence of the big guns during the low-key month of August, and Sean Veale now leads the SA jockey log ahead of the weekend.
He took his tally to 8 winners for the powerful Alan Greeff yard in 3 Gqebereha meetings.
On Friday, the Sporting Post-sponsored jockey booted home four Greeff winners in La Pequenita (9-10), Unyielding (5-1), Ellorix (5-2) and the well-weighted My Best Shot (8-10) in the final race.
His current win strike rate is 24% overall, and 35% for Greeff.
Last season he rode 68 winners (11,64%).
When asked by Racing Today on-course presenter Neil Pretorius to comment on the difference between the KZN polytrack and the Gqeberha equivalent, Veale observed that a horse can win from off the pace at Fairview.
“This is a proper polytrack. Hollywoodbets Greyville is more of a sand track. And if you are at the back there, you are probably trying to hide away from the kick-back.”
Based in KZN, Veale takes 6 rides on the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf on Sunday.
Gavin Smith saddled 3 winners at Fairview on Friday, all ridden by different jockeys.
